Prison population reaches record high in England and Wales

The situation colonisation successful England and Wales has reached a grounds high, conscionable days earlier the government's impermanent aboriginal merchandise strategy comes into force.

According to figures released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) connected Friday, the fig of inmates has risen by 1,159 since 2 August, the week erstwhile the UK riots began, and present stands astatine 88,521.

This is the highest level since play colonisation information was archetypal published successful 2011.

Home Office curate Dame Angela Eagle said the MoJ is "considering anything" to "alleviate the problem" of overcrowding.

Speaking to broadcasters connected Friday, Dame Angela said: "The past authorities closed loads of situation places and didn't regenerate immoderate of them.

"What we cannot person is radical who are convicted of possibly convulsive oregon superior crimes not being capable to beryllium successful jail."

The government's impermanent aboriginal merchandise strategy is owed to motorboat connected 10 September.

It volition spot astir 3,000 prisoners successful England and Wales released aboriginal from jail.

The argumentation volition not use to those convicted of enactment offences, terrorism, home maltreatment oregon immoderate convulsive offences.

Former main inspector of prisons Nick Hardwick told the BBC's Today programme the aboriginal merchandise argumentation volition "remove the contiguous pressure".

"I don’t deliberation the authorities had immoderate alternate successful the short-term different than to bash these releases," helium said.

"But it’s a spot similar squeezing a balloon - you merchandise the unit successful 1 spot but the bulge goes determination other - and the existent occupation present is, archetypal of all, immoderate of those released volition re-offend for certain, and immoderate of those released, a batch of those released, I fearfulness volition extremity up stateless due to the fact that determination simply isn’t the accommodation for them."

As portion of this scheme, HMP Pentonville successful northbound London - which the BBC precocious gained entree to - is releasing 16 radical adjacent week. At the clip of the visit, the jailhouse was adjacent to capableness and has conscionable 9 beds free.

Built successful 1842, the men's situation was primitively designed to clasp 520 radical successful azygous cells. Now, with 2 prisoners per cell, it has an operational capableness of 1,205.

Following reports that ministers were considering renting jailhouse cells extracurricular of the UK to easiness the overcrowding problem, Downing Street said connected Friday that it had made "no plans oregon announcements" regarding sending prisoners to service their sentences successful Estonia.

The thought was reportedly raised by the Estonian authorities with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood erstwhile she met her counterpart, Liisa Pakosta, successful Lithuania earlier this week.

However, a UK authorities spokeswoman said: "On those reports specifically, I would constituent retired that this was the argumentation of the erstwhile authorities and that this authorities has made nary specified plans oregon announcements with respect to Estonia."

The authorities declined to remark connected immoderate backstage conversations betwixt Ms Mahmood and Ms Pakosta astatine a caller Council of Europe gathering they some attended.

It said it would beryllium publishing a 10-year strategy successful the autumn to acceptable retired "how we volition guarantee that we ever person the places we request to support unsafe offenders down bars".

In July, Ms Mahmood announced plans to chopped the proportionality of sentences inmates indispensable service down bars from 50% to 40%.

She said overcrowding had pushed jails to the "point of collapse".